The play button is the most compelling CTA you can have, but legions of agents still haven’t started to record their own videos. I could tell you (again) about the stats supporting video, including:

Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined (Brightcove)

70% of marketers claim video producers more conversions than any other type of content (Vidyard)

60% of people prefer to watch a video than read a newsletter (Animoto)

Businesses using video grow company revenue 49% faster year over year than companies without video (Aberdeen)

But I know that’s not enough. What you need — I think — is the guarantee that incorporating video won’t suck away all your time. That you can create and promote a great market update video in just 15 minutes.

GAME ON!

Here’s how you can prep, record and deploy a video in ~15 minutes. Before you set the timer, note that you’ll need:

A YouTube login (or another video hosting site or platform that you plan to use)

Ready, Set, GO!

Minutes 1-2: Prep your script*

Don’t worry about writing out a word-for-word script. Instead, peek at your local market stats and find 2-3 points that are exciting and salient to buyers or sellers. Jot down some quick notes about what you’d to say — bullet points are best because you can scan them as you record. Remember to include a short analysis of what the stats could mean for your potential clients. Should they expect multiple offers? To close quickly? To nix contingencies? The more specific you can be, the better.

Minutes 4-5: Prep your equipment and “set”

Clean off your desk and write out “Market Update” on a notecard or whiteboard behind you

Double check your angle. Aim for straight on or slightly above — no one looks good from below!

Minutes 6-7: Record!*

Hit record and let ‘er rip! Try to keep it under 70-90 seconds. If you find that you are still on your first talking point or data point after a minute has passed, don’t proceed to the next point. Instead, tease that as future content:

“I’ll be back next week with more info on how quickly local sellers are hitting the closing table.”

What happens if you flub it? Unless it’s really embarrassing, or you used NSFW language, post it! No one is perfect and your audience won’t fault you for an errant “um” or “uh” now and again. In fact, it’ll make you look more authentic!

Minutes 7-10

Unless you recorded it on Facebook Live, you’ll want to upload to YouTube, Vimeo or another public video hosting platform. Log into your preferred platform to get started.

It can be tempting to go bare bones with just a title, but remember — our Google overlords own YouTube, and they reward those who provide optimized content! Spent a few minutes adding a title with local keywords; fill out a quick description and add categories.

Minutes 11-15

It’s time to pick your (first) promo! Once the video is live, consider where you want to share it.

Here are a few options:

Send it as a mass email via your CRM*

Post it on Facebook with a clever caption

Post it to Twitter and adding hashtags or tagging accounts that might help boost the watch rate

*Okay, okay I fibbed. It’s probably going to take you longer than 15 minutes to master video creation if you’re a true rookie. Think of it like the first time you made a tricky recipe… it took twice as long but the second time around, you remembered not to burn the onions and you ate before 9pm.

The same goes for market update videos. Once you get a few of these under your belt, you’ll be able to churn through them in under 20 minutes.

Share a link to your market update video!

Challenge extended: join our Facebook community and share a link to your market update videos in the comments! Because I wouldn’t ask you do something I haven’t tried myself, here’s mine:

Technology trends change frequently. These statements are believed to be true at the time of this article's publish date but are not guaranteed.

About the Author

Kristi Kennelly, former Broadway performer and corporate executive, has been involved in real estate marketing and mortgage technology since 1998 with a focus on effective marketing and sales strategies, communication and how to best leverage technology to get it all done. After spending nine years leading the marketing department for Interthinx, where she helped win Mortgage Technology Magazine’s prestigious 10X and Synergy Awards, Kristi rejoined the realtor.com® team as a national speaker.
For those interested in the Broadway career, Kristi was the youngest performer ever hired for CATS (she performed as “Rumpleteazer” in the Broadway, national and Los Angeles companies) and played opposite Matthew Broderick in How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. Kristi is married with one son and is a year-round Little League fan.